
Total War: PHARAOH
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Metascore: 74
Company: Creative Assembly Sofia
Release Date: Oct 11 2023
Genre: Turn-based strategy
Total War: Pharaoh is a turn-based strategy real-time tactics video game developed by Creative Assembly Sofia and published by Sega. Part of the Total War series Pharaoh is set in the New Kingdom of Egypt and its surrounding areas before the Late Bronze Age collapse. The game was released for Windows PC on October 11 2023. Feral Interactive will publish the game's macOS version. Total War: Pharaoh is a turn-based strategy real-time tactics video game. In the game the player can choose from eight leaders representing the game's three factions: Ancient Egypt (Seti II Amenmesse Twosret and Ramesses III) the Canaanites of the Levant (Bay and Irsu) and the fragmented Hittite Empire under Šuppiluliuma II and Kurunta in Anatolia. New to the series is unit stance. Units in the game can now advance hold (or forming a shield wall or a spear wall) and fall back. When unit falls back they will retreat and slowly cede ground while maintaining formation and facing forward. Units armour will also degrade causing them to become progressively more vulnerable during confrontations. As with Troy environments and armour will affect unit movement. For instance heavier unit will become exhausted faster and become bogged down in mud. Natural disasters will impact the terrain. For instance a thunderstorm may create more mud and create harsh conditions for heavy units while a sandstorm will drastically reduce visibility rendering archers useless. Fire will also spread across the battlefield destroying buildings and killing units caught in it. As the players progress in the game they will be able to recruit units that are more adept to Egypt's harsh weather and terrain conditions. Siege battles also underwent changes. Each settlement now has three capture points with each bringing a unique boost to the army that controls it. For instance one capture point may boost an army's morale while another may boost their stamina.